kickerfish1

Memorial Day is likely the next major sale for TW. Probably around 15% off.

Nice ride Shane!

Feature wise the reel is a good value. My only gripes were that to access the internal breaking system you have to remove the side plate. The worst part is that once removed, it doesnt have a hinge or anything holding it on. Just be careful not to do this over the waters edge. I sold my Komodo because I didnt care for the breaking system and access to it. Everything else was stellar.

The taper and power are unique for sure. I would say it is a medium powered rod with a moderate fast action. It really bends pretty deep into the blank. Looking at Shimanos current lineup you wont find a rod that is this sensitive and light weight.

Gotcha! It was hard to tell in the picture. Enjoy!

Nice green addition to the 2015 catch totals. I have enjoyed following this post for a few reasons. You write like an author, the pictures are great, and since all out lakes are locked up it is helping me get through the winter. I recall a similar effort for me several years back. Wanted to focus on fine tuning my drop shot fishing. Was too cold and dangerous for the boat so fished a few area lakes from the shore. Had days where I would manage 5-10 fish and blanked quite often too. Average a fish or two an outing. They were usually an hour to 3 hours tops. Generally dealing with iced guides and cold fingers made it challenging. Water temps were high 30s to low 40s. Best part was having the entire lake to myself and really slowing down. Some casts seemed like a 5 minute process and almost torture but that is what it took some days to get bit. Sorry for the ramblings but this series of reports reminded me of something similar to what I went through a few years back. Keep em coming!

I thought that is what you meant after re-reading your post a few times. Cant speak on how the rods are but if they built similar to the reels I would skeptical. If you ever want to test drive the escalade reels I will send them your way so you can see them in their "prime"!

That Cumuls 6'10 MH is my favorite mag finesse casting rod ever. At 3 ounces it is stupid light. Components and blank were some of the best Shimano made at the time. The rod is quite unique. It probably should be labeled as Medium powered rod. It really caps at just above 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz is the max for me. I have a core 50mg7 on mine with HH Studios dress up parts and 10# tatsu. Great outfit for finsse jigs and weightless plastics around little to no cover. Also a rod that fishes shakeyhead worms and drop shot rigs. The other thing that it is fun to throw on it are jerbaits. A unique rod that takes time to adjust to. Once you do it is fun mag finesse rod!! Nice find and a rod that doesnt come available all that often. Enjoy...

I know you have fished a good amount of nicer rod and reel offerings both USDM and JDM. I bought 2 Escalade reels about 3 or 4 years ago. Both are no longer functional even after a professional cleaning and supertune. I paid around 1/2 of the retail price for both and they were lightly used and maintained. They worked quite well for about 6 months then the retrieve on one became so rough from the gears going out and the other reel cant be cast more than 10 yards without a backlash. This is after the servicing. They look "cool" but their performance and longevity is luke-warm at best. I would advise you to spend your $ elsewhere.

Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply, and hopefully you can continue to find some fishable soft water in the future!

That isn't true. It is good on flourocarbon for that reason. The product helps reduce coil, line twists, and memory. The smoother and straightened line handles better and casts easier and further. Braided lines may not see the effects as much as flourocarbons, monos, and co-polys. A great product for spinning and casting reels but especially spinning. The fact that it has zero odors or harmful chemical residue is an added plus.

Nice few days at the local lakes! The combo looks great as well. Did you try yo-yo"ing" the lipless crank that worked on the previous trips?

Nice outfit WarEagle! Hard to tell in the photo but is that one of the older cumara rods? I have 4 still and will never part with mine. Great looking and performing rods.

Nice collection! I do agree about their artistic qualities. Sure beats most of that abstract "art" in museums!

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in a few thoughts Ty. This should help the OP more from a comparison standpoint. I am anxious to try mine out in the spring.

Member "Tywithay" if I am close on the spelling, has used all the rods in question. If I recall he has 1 or 2 ALX rods one of which I believe is a custom. He could probably make a fair assessment of the rods in question. I believe on sensitivity alone just dragging a jig across the floor in the basement that the rod is more sensitive than the IMX and Champion rods but couldn't compare it to the ***. Haven't fished mine yet but it has that "it" feel to it for its price.

Picked up the Maestro spinning rod over their Black Friday sale. Rod is sitting in the basement waiting for winter to pass. Paid around $180 shipped. Keep in mind their rods can only be bought through their website and they charge a good amount for shipping. Their Black Friday sale eliminated shipping while providing 10% off. Sign up to get on their email list for sales and specials. Rod feels exceptional for what I bought it for. The blank appears to be quite nice though I am probably 2 months out from using it.

T3MX is on the radar for this guy as well.

Jerkbaits from Lucky Craft Drop shot soft plastics from Roboworm and Jackall hooks and weights too Senkos, flukes, and caffeine shads and 4/0 EWG hooks Jackall flickshakes and wacky jigheads 3/8 oz finesse swim jig or bullet head styles from Siebert Finesse jigs or hair jigs Few spinnerbaits or chatterbaits if needed Topwaters and cranks if needed This should be a solid start.

Thanks for the reply.

Really depends on bottom composition and overall fish activity. For lakes with weedier bottoms I like to hop and pop it through the grass/vegetation and let the fish see it. Dragging may work better for lakes with little bottom structure or very neutral/non aggressive fish. Ribbontail worms on Texas rig have worked for years. An often overlooked method by many anglers today who seek out the latest/greatest techniques. Powerworms, Culprit worms, Rage anacondas are all good choices.

Boostr, Have you purchased from Andys before? Any feedback on their various hair jig variations you could provide? Assuming you have fished their products.

Any low profile Daiwa 103 series reel will pitch well. An Alphas can be had for under/around $200. The Steeze 103 series reels would be about $50-$100 more but would really need no spool upgrades. The TDZ 103s are good but I would track down a Steeze or Alphas first plus they are very comfortable and easy to plam and really light weight. An alphas will accept the 6:8.1 gear set.

Those Lighting trucks were schhhwweeet! Nice rides!

Nice posts in here Goose! Fishing year around I have similar numbers with May and June peaking. Early ice out and just prior to ice up are equally low. No doubt a struggle just to get a bite or two let alone one landed.